This article is from page 26 of the 2005-09-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 26 JPG
CLARE cattle are in demand on the continent and in Italy in particu- lar according to livestock exporter David Murphy. Speaking at the IFA Livestock meeting in Ennis last week, the Cork based exporter out- lined the growing demand for good quality weanling heifers and bulls vem Le Nave
Mr Murphy went on to compli- ment the quality of animal that is being produced by farmers in Clare and told of the importance of export- ing cattle and the need to insure that cattle are in test when they are sold. A large crowd was in attendance at the meeting which took place in the Auburn Lodge on Tuesday evening.
A panel of expert speakers out- lined how the weanling trade and beef trade post decoupling is shap- ing up. Martin McNamara of Clare Marts also spoke at the meeting and revealed that there are a large number of exporters attending marts in Clare. He went on to confirm the point made by Mr Murphy and said
that good quality weanlings are making good money in the export market.
Mr McNamara also advised Clare farmers to sell their cattle in a mart as this is the only place where they are sure of payment. He warned that a number of farmers who sold their cattle off the land did not receive payment.
The IFA’s National Chairman of the Livestock Committee John Bryan, spoke about the problem of imports of Brazilian beef which are putting a lot of pressure on Irish beef price. He outlined a four point plan that the IFA is putting forward to deal with the problem.
The plan includes correct labelling of beef imports, the role of Feile Bia, placing a tariff on imported product and introducing a ceiling on beef tonnage entering the EU.
Mr Bryan also revealed that while on a recent visit to the continent he was able to assess the current qual- ity of foreign beef. He reported that beef from Ireland is among the best quality on the European market and
that French beef would be our main oyenereeicoe The meeting was followed by a
lively questions and answers session between members of the panel and the farmers who attended.